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Cracks Call
| rarity = Uncommon | type = Combat Instant | casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = A unit on the target tile has a 25% chance of being entirely destroyed. Any stone walls adjacent to the target are destroyed. Flying and Non-Corporeal units are immune to this spell. }} Cracks Call is an Uncommon Combat Instant belonging to the realm. For it may be cast on a land tile during combat. The unit standing on this tile has a 25% chance to be destroyed immediately, with no bonuses for Defense or Resistance. Flying and Non-Corporeal units are not affected by this spell at all. Stone walls adjacent to this tile are destroyed. Effects Cracks Call has a 25% chance to destroy an enemy target and crushes all stone walls next to it. It is exceptionally useful for taking out enemy units regardless of how powerful they are. The only exception are Flying and Non-Corporeal units who are immune to it. Units destroyed by Cracks Call cannot be brought back to life in any way. Cracking the Earth When Cracks Call is cast at the tile which has a wall segments adjacent to it, these segments are destroyed. If Cracks Call is cast at the tile containing an enemy unit during combat, that unit must roll a completely random number between 1 and 100. If the rolled number is 25 or less, the unit is completely destroyed (all killed). Flying and Non-Corporeal units are completely immune to Cracks Call. Other unit abilities, such as Magic Immunity or other defensive attributes do not reduce the chance of destruction at all. Units Lost Forever Cracks Call is the only spell or unit ability that does irreversible damage. A unit destroyed by the Cracks Call spell is gone forever. It is not possible to use any spell to return such a unit from the dead. This includes Animate Dead, Raise Dead, Resurrection (for Heroes), and even the revival due to Regeneration. The only exception to this rule is Torin the Chosen, who can be re-summoned by casting the Incarnation spell again. Note that if a Hero is killed by Cracks Call while holding one or more Magical Items, those items are also lost forever - even if the Hero's army manages to win the battle. Usage Cracks Call may only be cast during combat, for the Casting Cost of . It can be targeted at any combat tile. Again, while you may target a tile containing Flying or Non-Corporeal unit, the spell will simply do nothing to such a unit - completely wasting the spent for casting it! The visual effect showing Cracks Call in action is a green-colored rip of the ground at the targeted tile. If the unit fails its survival roll, it will simply disappear (presumably, into the crack). After the survival roll the green cracks disappear. They have no lasting effect on the unit (if it survives) or the targeted ground. Acquisition As an Uncommon spell, Cracks Call may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least one Spellbook. However, its availability during the game is almost never guaranteed. Customized Wizards possessing Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards who possess at least Spellbooks, or Wizards with Spellbooks who did not select Cracks Call as a guaranteed spell, will be able to Research this spell at some point during their campaign. Wizards with fewer than Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research it. The chance for this spell to appear increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. Cracks Call has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbook, the Cracks Call spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Strategy Despite being only an Uncommon Spell, Cracks Call is considered one of the most powerful spells in a Wizard's arsenal, because it stands a relatively good chance of utterly destroying even the most powerful enemy Hero or Fantastic Creature. Naturally the spell also works against weaker units, but usually there are more efficient ways to dispatch such units. When used in combination with the Web spell, Cracks Call can even handle units. Of course, if you are the one with a penchant for using lone, super-powerful units, Cracks Call can be your worst enemy! The AI will sometimes cast Web even at Invisible units. Thus, and Invisibility are not always sufficient to completely protect your powerful units from Cracks Call. Non-Corporeal units are the only ones who truly have nothing to fear from Cracks Call. The best Non-Corporeality, of course, is the kind that cannot be dispelled - whether given by the innate Non-Corporeal ability or through the "Wraithform" Item Power. The latter guarantees that your Hero won't be consigned to an ignominious end in the bowels of the earth. All other protective methods can be circumvented in one way or another. The wall crushing effect of the spell shouldn't be forgotten as it destroys wall segments without making any random rolls. This may come in handy as wizards rely mostly on Walking units, who cannot simply pass the city walls. Category:Combat Instants Category:Nature